47 Ronin (2013)

A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.

Director:

Carl Rinsch

Writers:

Chris Morgan (screenplay), Hossein Amini (screenplay)

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Kai
Hiroyuki Sanada	...	Ôishi
Ko Shibasaki	...	Mika (as Kô Shibasaki)
Tadanobu Asano	...	Lord Kira
Min Tanaka	...	Lord Asano
Jin Akanishi	...	Chikara
Masayoshi Haneda	...	Yasuno
Hiroshi Sogabe	...	Hazama
Takato Yonemoto	...	Basho
Hiroshi Yamada	...	Hara
Shû Nakajima	...	Horibe
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Shogun Tsunayoshi
Neil Fingleton	...	Lovecraftian Samurai
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Witch
Natsuki Kunimoto	...	Riku

Storyline

While hunting in the forest, Lord Asano of Ako and his samurai find a young half-breed and take him with them to live in the castle. Several years later, Lord Asano holds a tournament to welcome the Shogun to Ako. The night after the tournament, Lord Asano is bewitched into hurting Lord Kira of Nagato, and is punished into committing seppuku by the Shogun. Realizing that it was a Lord Kira's evil plot, the samurais and the half-breed sets out for revenge against the Shogun's order.

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Plot Keywords:

shogun | samurai | ronin | tournament | half breed | 

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Taglines:

This Christmas, seize eternity.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images, and thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

25 December 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

47 Ronin: La Leyenda del Samurai

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios Budapest- Felsokert utca 9, Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$175,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,869,000 (USA) (27 December 2013)

Gross:

$38,297,305 (USA) (31 January 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

H2F Entertainment, Mid Atlantic Films, Moving Picture Company (MPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min (International Cut) 128 min (Extended Edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is Jin Akanishi's debut in a Hollywood movie.

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Goofs

In several of the scenes, it is highly noticeable that the flags and banners and tents used throughout the movie are machine stitched with modern double needle stitching. Also that the loops used to attached to poles are stitched in the "X in a box" style not used till very recently in history. For a clear example see (time-stamp)21m0s when the Samurai challenger in the silver mask and suit emerges from the tent and look at the banner in the background. The mechanical sewing machine will not have been invented for at least another 50 years after this historic incident had happened. and the sewing machine still would not reach Japan for many more decades.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Ancient feudal Japan, a land shrouded in mystery, forbidden to foreigners. A group of magical islands home to witches and demons. A nation of rival provinces whose lords were ruled by a shogun whose will is absolute. Peace in the realm is kept by the samurai, master swordsmen tasked with protecting their lord and their province at all costs. Should a samurai ever lose of fail his master, he suffers the greatest shame in all Japanese society. He becomes a ronin. And yet, to know ...

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Crazy Credits

The Universal spinning Earth begins normally, but after the camera backs away to show the full globe and logo it then slowly zooms back in with the Earth still spinning to Japan and the movies title is drawn over the Pacific Ocean. Clouds then obscure everything then clear as the view zooms in to Japan and the narration begins.

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #7.178 (2013)

User Reviews

Honor in Death!!!

A band of samurai who have lost there master set out to avenge his treacherous death at the hands of Lord Kira. Enter Kai, a humble "half breed" with more to him than meets the eye, with catching favor with the fallen Lord's daughter, Kai must join the 47 Ronin to not only avenge his honor but save the woman he loves..

Very visually appealing with a nice blend of action and a wonderful nod to ancient Japanese mythology. I felt though that there could have been more to the story, simple and clichéd in some areas but overall an enjoyable film. Keanu does a decent job with his part but the true meat and potatoes comes from Hiroyuki Sanada, who does a masterful job in his portrayal as the chief ronin, Ôishi . The true pleasure and joy within this film is its nod and ode to the ancient Japanese mythology of the time, which in my opinion is done very well. Some may not understand the conclusion of this film but in a little learned knowledge of the culture one would see it for what it was intended for.. All in all an enjoyable movie and film for any fan of action films and historical fantasy.